BY JACK WARD
PASTOR, TOMAHAWK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the greater Idaho Falls Science Fair on April 26, 1997. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project, he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”
And for plenty of good reasons:
· It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
· It is a major component in acid rain.
· It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
· Accidental inhalation can kill you.
· It decreases the effectiveness of automobile brakes.
· It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.
He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew the chemical was H20 (water). His prize-winning project was titled “How Gullible Are We?” He feels the conclusion is obvious.
How gullible are we? If you ask the average person on the street, “Why do people go to hell?” Most will tell you that only really bad people or murderers or serial killers go to hell. If you ask people, “What person can you think of that is in hell right now?” They will tell you Hiter, or maybe someone like Jeffrey Dahmer.
Most people believe in hell, yet no one believes they are going there. We are gullible on the most important of things. Our eternal destiny is one we must not be mistaken about. The most chilling part of the Bible is Revelation 20:15 (this is the second death): “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
According to the Bible, many people are going to hell (which is where people go until God finally judges them into the Lake of Fire.) But who will be there? And how did they wind up there? The book of life is the registry book of those whose “citizenship is in heaven.” Luke 10:20: “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
In Jesus’ time, free cities had a roll book containing the names of those with the right of citizenship. Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So then, how do you get your name written in the book of life? Revelation 21 tells us about heaven. The last verse of that chapter says, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
In Revelation 21, the book is called the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” Who is the Lamb? Jesus Christ. So what is this passage telling us? Sin cannot enter into heaven. Therefore sinners cannot have their names written in the book of life.
But we are all sinners, aren’t we? Yes. All of us are on our way to hell. “But God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life.” (1 John 5:12)
You’ve got to have your sins washed away by the blood of that Lamb who was slain – Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!
Don’t be gullible into thinking that you won’t go to hell. The Bible says you will if you don’t have the Son. If you don’t deal with your sins now by putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you WILL hear these words: “Depart from me ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23)
Hear Pastor Jack’s sermons and read sermon texts, outlines, and more Pastor’s Pen articles at tomahawkmbc.com.